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Kyle Brodziak smiled when asked about a statute of limitations on the joy of sticking it to his former team.

The Minnesota Wild centre, who was traded away by the Edmonton Oilers four years ago, scored a pair of goals Tuesday night in 5-3 win.

It was Brodziak’s first two-goal game of the season.

“Oh I don’t know,” Brodziak smiled. “I try not to think about that. The more you think about that, the less it’s probably going to happen. I just want to worry about playing as well as I can and trying to help the team win.”

Brodziak, 28, has scored six career goals against the Oilers since being dealt, along with a sixth-round pick to the Wild for a fourth- and a fifth-round pick at the 2009 NHL Entry draft.

The St. Paul, Alta., product had spent five years in the Oilers organization before being considered expendable and shipped off to Minnesota. In four seasons with the Wild, Brodziak has scored 55 goals.

The Oilers, meanwhile, are still looking for his replacement, unable to find a big, strong centre who can skate well and win face-offs.

“It feels good to get the two points,” said Brodziak. “We needed it, our team needed it. It was a good effort. We’re still in a real tight playoff race and we needed the win tonight.”

Brodziak got his team started early, scoring 61 seconds into the contest, burying a rebound past goaltender Devan Dubnyk.

Brodziak added his second on a breakaway early in the third period, giving the Wild a 5-1 lead to that point.

“I looked up and I really didn’t see much (on the breakaway),” said Brodziak. “I tried to give him (Dubnyk) a little fake and I was fortunate to get a good bounce off the post and then in off his leg.”

The win helped the Wild solidify their playoff standing, now with 51 points on the season and well above the cut line.

They had come into the contest against the Oilers off a win in Calgary the night before. And considering all that occurred in Edmonton Monday with Craig MacTavish replacing general manager Steve Tambellini, the Wild expected the Oilers to put up a fight, which for all intents and purposes, they didn’t.

“We knew that a lot of guys in that room are going to be fighting for jobs next year,” said Brodziak. “They’re a team with a lot of skill and we knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy. But sometimes when you give up an early goal, it’s a little bit deflating.”

Kyle Brodziak smiled when asked about a statute of limitations on the joy of sticking it to his former team.

The Minnesota Wild centre, who was traded away by the Edmonton Oilers four years ago, scored a pair of goals Tuesday night in 5-3 win.

It was Brodziak’s first two-goal game of the season.

“Oh I don’t know,” Brodziak smiled. “I try not to think about that. The more you think about that, the less it’s probably going to happen. I just want to worry about playing as well as I can and trying to help the team win.”

Brodziak, 28, has scored six career goals against the Oilers since being dealt, along with a sixth-round pick to the Wild for a fourth- and a fifth-round pick at the 2009 NHL Entry draft.

The St. Paul, Alta., product had spent five years in the Oilers organization before being considered expendable and shipped off to Minnesota. In four seasons with the Wild, Brodziak has scored 55 goals.